On March 16, 2018, the Philippines began the process of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court. The decision ultimately discredits the Philippines’ democratic credentials that are supposedly grounded on the ideals of human rights.

On February 23, 2018, the representatives of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the TAPI gas pipeline, which is intended to transfer 33 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Turkmenistan to the three countries.

Economist Paul Krugman told the News18 Rising India Summit that India needed to expand manufacturing to put more people to work, but a closer look at China’s growth trajectory showed that population policy was the key.

US President Donald Trump recently signed the Taiwan Travel Act, appointed pro-Taiwan John Bolton as his national security advisor, and ordered a tariff on China’s imports. Has he really undergone a change of heart and mind about Taiwan and China?

China’s 13th NPC closed on March 20, 2018 with a speech given by President Xi Jinping and a press conference by Premier Li Keqiang. Macroeconomic announcements and formation of Xi’s new team were the two most eagerly watched items.

US’ withdrawal from the TPP and the Paris Climate Accords, and the recent dismissal of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, signal the US’ waning influence and reinforce the collective will of the international community to cooperate.

On March 16, 2018, US President Donald Trump signed the Taiwan Travel Act, which will encourage and allow for official exchanges between Taipei and Washington at all levels. Beijing expressed its strong dissatisfaction with the Act but has not clarified its countermeasures so far.

Both the US and Pakistan seem to be in damage control mode, and they have been making efforts to send a clear message: that while they have significant differences on important strategic issues, neither side can allow the relationship to drift any further.

Largely unhindered filibustering results in notably more harm than good being visited on any serious legislative process. Full freedoms to filibuster will lead to regular abuses of process at the expense of making timely progress on significant, legislative proposals.

In a bid to secure reconciliation, the Afghan government continued the Kabul Peace Process with both international and regional involvement. It extended an olive branch to the Taliban by agreeing to hold talks with it “without preconditions.”